Yahoo! News - Sharpton Blasts Dean on Race in Debate: "DES MOINES, Iowa - Under fire in a campaign debate, Howard Dean (news - web sites) conceded grudgingly Sunday night that he never named a black or Latino to his cabinet during nearly 12 years as governor of Vermont. "

The logical question here is: How many qualified blacks and latinos were there in Vermont that he could have appointed and who wanted the job? If the answer is "None" then it's hardly Dean's fault for not appointing any. If the answer is that he turned away many qualified minorities for those positions in favor of less qualified whites then Rev. Sharpton has a point.

Update: I've read today that Vermont is about 96% white (CNN) which would seem to explain the lack of minorities in Dean's cabinet. It's entirely possible that with so few minorities in his state there just weren't many qualified candidates who wanted the job.

I realize that Rev. Sharpton says he is just exploiting a door that Governor Dean opened, but frankly it just smells racist when you make race the primary issue in who does or doesn't get appointed.